4 A.M., New York: Elections and 9/11

4 A.M., New York: Elections and 9/11

I had a realization early this morning. A simple realization. And I wanted to share that with you.

I thought about the election here in New York City today, with the backdrop of 9/11. Are they connected? Are they not?

Let’s talk about the mayoral election first. Today is the primary election — to select one among the candidates each party put up. Basically, in New York City, Democratic candidate who wins today with 40% majority vote is the candidate to win the November final election. Today is that important.

There must be a real choice for ordinary, hardworking New Yorkers and their families and children this time, as opposed to media- and corporation-sponsored elections we’ve seen in the past twelve years. We need democracy that New York was known for, and not this fake democracy and plutocracy for the extreme rich and powerful.

I woke up at 4 A.M. this morning to help with election duty, even though I knew that perhaps 5 or 10% would vote in these primaries (as usual), and the other 90% would not. On one hand, I felt that was because people were disenchanted with the election system in the first place. On the other, I knew the 5 or 10 percent New Yorkers voting today would be in the leadership position — one way or the other — to help put this fake democracy back in the direction of the ordinary people.

Stolen elections and bought off elections have cheated us New York’s working people, families, labor unions, immigrants, poor women, blacks and the vast underclass for twelve years. It is time we rose up and seized the political power. Time to drive the economy back and away from the 1 percent — to the 99 percent.

I went to help out on election duty this morning at 4 A.M. I saw obscure figures walking by in the darkness. No, they were not walking to their polling stations. They were already off to work — jumping over potholes, bypassing smelly sidewalks and riding dilapidated subway trains. This was not a different day for them.

Only if we could include and involve and inspire them in this democracy, one the rich and powerful stole away from us. If we could, there would be a completely nonviolent revolution. There would be democracy.

I’m still hoping.

***

This is New York, today. End it.

Now, what does it have to do with 9/11 and the terrorism and tragedies? Is there a connection?

Is there not? Think about it.

Let’s take the position of New York City mayor. This person can educate an entire generation about the ills of terror, the global history behind it, the obnoxious way New York City government and powerful people handled it, the way they silenced opposition and dissenting voices who were crying foul about the manufactured news surrounding the terrorism and the social, health and environment fallout, and much more.

The tragedies of 9/11 helped the rich and powerful of New York and the entire country of USA to steer away real debates on education, employment, immigration, labor, environment, health and society and economy in general. Corporate media helped the rich and powerful, and took advantage of a vulnerable nation, flouting all norms and ethics of democracy. Their purposefully misplaced priorities have made the rich richer, and poor poorer. They made the powerful even more powerful, flouting all decency and laws.

New York City and the rest of the country keep reeling with more unemployment, more imprisonment, more deportations, more hate crimes, more gun violence, more police brutality, more failing schools, more street potholes and more smelly subways. Prices have gone through the roof. The poor and middle class can’t afford to live in the city. Yet, at the same time, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Wall Street and war and oil and food and real estate industries have become wealthiest in history. Stock markets have boomed in the past few years — when the rest of the country was suffocating with job losses, home losses, deaths and despair.

It is a strange, uncanny, ghost-like economic system. Things are happening without our knowledge, and the one percent is making decisions, using you and me as election pawns.

Further, as far as terrorism and tragedies, the rich and powerful here in New York and America have not learned any lessons from the tragedies of 9/11. There is no preparedness — political, economic or psychological for future catastrophe.

Other than the Kafkaesque phone and Internet and camera spying on citizens and residents, that is.

Observing with Care,

Partha

Brooklyn, New York

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P.S. — By the way, last night we got at least two dozen calls from candidates running for various NYC positions. We felt so happy that they finally remembered us, even though four years too late. Thank you, candidates. You do value democracy — at least on the night before elections.